Tag Archives for Puerto Princesa

One of the highlights of our trip! Introducing one of the new Seven Wonders of the World: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park!

To get there, we had to travel by land for about 2 hours. It was a rough ride! Some parts of the road was bumpy and full of zigzags which makes it tough for people who easily gets dizzy. A random fact about Puerto Princesa: It’s the consistent winner of the ‘Greenest and Cleanest City’ according to Wikipedia (which is not a very reliable source, I know, but still)! 🙂

Ironic picture! We live in San Pedro, Laguna.. only to find it in Palawan too! 😀

Amaaaazing view! Which made our road trip not-so-boring and nakakabagot! Just look at that fog!!! Actually, Manila has the same kind. Only it’s called POLLUTION. Lol. I hate Manila. You could die young there. 😐 I live for fresh air in provinces!

After arriving at the harbor, we waited for a few minutes for our boat that would take us to the Underground River. We look so happy! 😀

My friends and I, with our tour guide Ate Princess, have a separate boat because one boat holds 8 people! The boat ride takes about 20-25 minutes, but the relaxing waves and breathtaking view makes it seem like 10!

Clear blue waters!!! There’s a little beach over there, and it was so isolated, we were speechless with shock as we stared at it! “I wanna live there.” – Cito

Alas, we have arrived! The Underground River was declared as a natural world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999. 🙂

Soooooo proud of my country!!! Kudos to all who voted! The Philippines are receiving a lot of negative vibes lately and it needs the right motivation for people to get off their asses and start doing their part in making our country a better place. We need inspiration!! Let’s do the beauty of our country justice!

Registration! Ha ha ha. Cito has the worst handwriting I have ever seen!

We’re now ready for our awesome adventure!!

They got separated because the boat can only hold 8-10 people. Boooo! 😦

Our tour guide (Kuya Ading) was funny as hell! I wouldn’t post his jokes here, as they wouldn’t make sense, thus won’t do them justice. Hey, did you know that a rock formation grows 1-3 mm a year? Yes, the rock formations inside are about 25 million years old!!! Here are some awesome rock formations inside the cave:

A t-rex head, and a crocodile head (at the back).

Two people hanging upside-down. 😦

Snoopy!!!!

The “Sexy Lady” Lol 🙂

There are different “rooms” inside the cave. They were called “Fruits and Vegetables” and “Meat” rooms. The reason behind the names were because the rock formations found along that part of the cave were, yes, fruits, vegetables and meat! 😀 My favorite room was the “Cathedral”. We all had goosebumps because the rock formations were so detailed and vivid, you would’ve thought they were carved!

This is called the “Pegasus”, or the winged horse from Greek mythology.

“The Last Supper” on top of a giant “Melting Candle”!

“The Three Kings”

Other rock formations found there are The Blessed Mary, half of Jesus’ face which his nose appears to be bleeding, and an Angel. Nature and God truly is awesome!!

My seatmate throughout the ride!

Feeling fulfilled after the ride! Kudos to Kuya Ading for being a hilarious tour guide!

Happy and proud faces! Eco-tourism beats popular tourism in my book! This is what I was telling you in the past posts. I would rather experience something new and adventurous than lay in the sand doing nothing. Beaches are boring, and wouldn’t give you any sense of satisfaction and is only meant for relaxation. I want to spend my summer by being productive and fulfilled! I always get tears in my eyes whenever I see the beauty of my country. I want to become President so I can fix everything!!! 😦

For our first night in Palawan, we were craving for fresh seafood! After asking the hotel’s caretaker, we went to Balinsasayaw Chicken Grill, just a few minutes away from our hotel.

My initial reaction upon entering the restaurant was amazement. The ambiance was so romantic! The restaurant was a huge fairy-lighted garden with nipa huts that ranges from small (two people pax) and large (it can house about 8 people). Since we had a large company (we were 12 in all), we settled for a large table instead of the cute nipa huts.

With Cito and Gold!

Look at my baby brother looking all adorable! That shirt he was wearing was one of my favorites! The baseball was exactly on top of his biiiiig tummy (which I think was the point of the design)! ❤

Shakes all around! The names of the shakes were actually pretty funny. There was Macorn, which was a combination of mango and corn. It’s weird, but good!

Their specialty shake – Balinsasayaw Shake.

Bird’s Nest soup, or Nido Soup. The green and red pieces there were actually bell peppers, not carrots and chives.

Two big bilaos which consisted of heaven on banana leaves! Seafood galore!!! There’s lumpia, grilled chicken, and liempo for non-seafood eaters (like my dad. Boooo!) and grilled squid, crab, and shrimp for the seafood lovers (like everyone else on the planet). Seafood is, and always will be, my ultimate weakness. Dieting was long forgotten after this has been served!!

Hello everyone! So I’ve failed to write for like, 5 days I think? Well, it’s because I’ve gone on vacay at Puerto Princesa, Palawan!

Palawan is actually one of the many summer destinations here in the Philippines. Tourism is at it’s highest in beaches and pools. Anywhere cooler, just because Manila is at it’s hottest weather! Who else here feels like they’re in a big oven and you just want to crawl inside your refrigerators? 😦

But don’t let it’s sands and waves get to you. Palawan is more than what meets the eye. Beaches and hotels are superficial. Subic, Boracay, and Batangas? They’re all the same. What we want to do is something new, something different. Anything NOT popular and superficial. You’ll soon get to see what we experienced in Palawan in the upcoming posts. 🙂

We got to airport at around 2 in the afternoon. Our flight was at 3:40 so we still have a lot of time to spare.

Me and my craaaazy friends! You already know Gold and Inna, and the one on the farthest right is Shae, who has been my friend for 13 years! When my parents asked who I want to bring on this trip, they were the first ones on my mind!

Sharing this experience with him made my vacation all the more fantastic! This trip is already looking up, just by the sight of him.

Meet my cousin, Meg! She’s my bestest friend ever!

The flight was delayed for an hour, and we had nothing to do to pass the time! 😦

Ha ha ha, look at Gold looking adorable!

When the flight pushed through, we were nothing but excited! You should be there when we scream, “Palawan, woooo!” People around us think we’re insane. Who knows? Maybe we are! 🙂

Once inside the plane! It was Shae’s first time.

It was also my baby brother’s first time! He’s so cute and quiet during the flight. 🙂

Just look at that sea! It’s soooo clear and blue, safe from pollution! Sigh. It’s like I’m nostalgic for places that I’ve never even seen. I want the old times back, back when we’re all neanderthals and there are no buildings!!! Ha ha. 😀